The
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hasn't set a date for a confirmation hearing for Tracie Stevens as chair of the
National Indian Gaming
Commission.
Stevens, a member of the
Tulalip Tribes of Washington, was nominated to the post on April 28. The agency will remain under acting chair George Skibine until the Senate takes action on Stevens.
“Gaming, of course, is a contentious issue, but the senator is happy to have someone from the Northwest be nominated who will bring a unique perspective to the commission,” a spokesperson for
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), a member of the committee, told The Everett Herad.
Stevens currently works at the
Bureau
of Indian Affairs for
Assistant
Secretary Larry Echo Hawk. She has served as an adviser in Washington, D.C.,
since July 2009.
Prior to that, Stevens was a senior policy analyst for her tribe's
governmental affairs office. She is known in Indian Country primarily for her
expertise in Indian gaming -- she has served as Chair of the Gaming Subcommittee
for the
Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians, Secretary of the Board of the Directors for the
Washington Indian
Gaming Association and as as the Northwest Delegate for the
National Indian Gaming
Association
The NIGC recently swore in Daniel Little, a former employee of the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation of Connecticut, as an associate commissioner. Steffani Cochran, a
member of the
Chickasaw
Nation, was sworn in earlier this year as vice chair.
Get the Story:
Tulalip picked for gambling commission
(The Everett Herald 5/11)
White House Announcement:
President
Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts (White House 4/28)
Related Stories:
NIGC's acting general counsel to retire
from post on July 2 (5/5)
New leader of NIGC might bring in a new
general counsel (4/30)
Obama
nominates Tulalip woman for NIGC chairman post (4/29)
NIGC complete for now with Daniel Little as
last member (4/21)
NIGC nominee
denies online posts that criticized Obama (4/16)
Blog: NIGC nominee may have bashed Obama on
Internet (4/6)
Comment period
for NIGC appointment closes March 29 (3/10)
EchoHawk names three members of DC team (7/31)
EchoHawk bringing in his team to Washington
(7/20)
